Creatures in Project Eternity

[Oner]

 

...giant...

I like this one. I think the last time I saw a giant in game was that fire giant battle in BG2 TOB.

NwN 1 had giants too!

[Frisk]

While I am pretty sure that many of the monsters in PE will be very familiar, I disagree with the idea that there are any classic "must-have" monsters.  I will be perfectly happy even if I get no goblins, skeletons, orcs or giant spiders for example .... provided that I get at least a few brand new ones, or at leas6t old ones with some major changes instead - I like being surprised.

[LadyCrimson]

I like the firecats. The type that are huge and set fire to everything they touch as they stroll along. They don't even have to be "evil" ... it's just who they are.

(something smaller would be interesting too...harder to see/catch/stop)

[TRX850]

I absolutely love Constructs and anything inanimate imbued with live, so for me awesome choices would be:

 

 

Chain Golem.

 

 

 

Wicker Golem.

 

 

 

Gold Forged Golem.

 

 

 

Clockwork Golem.

[Barothmuk]

Barely related but could we call zombies something diffrent then zombie, like walkers, or deathless , I don't know why, and I know this is really stupid but I don't like Z word in fantasy

Dréag or driug? It's the Gaelic form of draugr (like Skyrim's zombies) and the language fits with PE's Aedyran language.

 

Personally I don't mind zombie, it's the silly ones like "walker" that bother me.

[rjshae]

I'd like to see some D&D 3.5e-style swarms. From rats to spiders to hellwasp swarms; just moving and pouring over each like a swirling, rushing mass.

[Lephys]

While I am pretty sure that many of the monsters in PE will be very familiar, I disagree with the idea that there are any classic "must-have" monsters.  I will be perfectly happy even if I get no goblins, skeletons, orcs or giant spiders for example .... provided that I get at least a few brand new ones, or at leas6t old ones with some major changes instead - I like being surprised.

I'd agree that there aren't any "must-have" specific creatures, but I'd say there are pretty big creature types, the absence of which would seem a bit forced/hollow? I mean, if there were NO undead at all (especially in a game all about souls cycling through life and death), or no arachnids whatsoever (or maybe just no insects? Arachnids might be too specific, maybe)... that would be pretty bland.

 

"NO furry, four-legged creatures! Those are so cliche, u_u..." Heh. If EVERYTHING was completely original, then it would all seem extremely foreign, as there'd be no intuitive connection with things. Granted, if they want to take artistic license and break from the typical mold on every single "typical" creature, I'm all for that. 8P

[maggotheart]

Here are some monster abilities I'd like to see implemented in PE:

 

1. Burrow into the earth and emerge in different places on the battlefield, knocking anyone nearby back.

2. Swallow party members whole, they are paralyzed and take damage until rescued

3. Tentacles (or chains on a chain golem) that can grapple party members and hold/drag them until the tentacles are cut/smashed

4. Grappling with their entire bodies or otherwise directly hanging onto a party member

5. Leaping/jumping/pouncing creatures who can clear obstructions

 

And here is a monster with all of these properties packed together, just for fun:

 

This monstrosity is a giant blubberous red-veined worm, covered in wriggling, lashing tentacles and capped by a cone shaped circle of teeth. It is capable of moving rapidly and completely underground in its native environment, emerging only to surprise prey. When attacking, it uses its many tentacles to grab anything that might be food and swallows it whole with great zeal, a dull roaring sound emerging from its fearsome maw. This creature often carries active subdermal larvae, which can emerge if the parent becomes injured. These small juveniles, in a different part of their life cycle, have hard shells and somewhat resemble trilobites or hermit crabs. They are capable of leaping far distances and latching onto living creatures. Once attached, they use their mandible like proto-jaws to slowly burrow inside the victim, feasting on their flesh.

 

Though fearsome, encountering a full adult is quite rare as they tend to avoid civilized areas and can only be found in hotter/wetter climates. They and their young are vulnerable to fire, while the rubbery tentacles and hide of the adult can be easily severed with slashing weapons. Anyone who has been swallowed whole by the creature is trapped - there are backward facing teeth spiraling all down the creatures throat - however it can take a long time for victims to die and be digested, so if the creature is killed, these victims can be freed by cutting the worm open from the outside.

[Lephys]

^ What if things like those larvae you mentioned (or leeches and such) that attached themselves to characters required other characters to attack "that character" to get them off? You know, "Swing your sword at this thing on my back! BUT DON'T CUT MY BACK!"

 

Dexterity/precision would be extraordinarily valuable in such times, and perhaps less-so versus other creatures who have no weakness until their shell is cracked through sheer brute force. *shrug*

Edited February 2, 2013 by Lephys

[maggotheart]

I want to see more interaction and co-operation between party members, whether it be burning a parasite off a friends back with a torch, cutting a tentacle or extricating someone from a monsters belly, helping them up from a prone position, or defending a weaker party member from attacks. The concept of building a party that works together to resolve challenges shouldn't end at class and skill choices, it should be personal and a core part of the mechanics.

 

Monsters, traps and other environmental challenges should all do this - it's not hard to imagine friends throwing a rope to someone in a pit trap, slicing open an entangling net, dragging a companion out of a patch of quicksand and so on. Companions should be useful beyond simply having a Fireball that goes well with someones Entangle ability.

[TRX850]

^^^^ I agree with this, and some of these options would require party members to be adjacent to the character in question. It reminds me (again) of Pool of Radiance (SSI, 1988) where if your comrade went down fighting and was unconscious, you'd have to move alongside them before you had access to the "Bandage" option, which I thought added to the team spirit. Rushing in to save your comrade goes a long way in adding dynamic emotional range to an encounter.

[Inertia]

i'd like to fight erinyes succubi and phoenix.

[Lephys]

I want to see more interaction and co-operation between party members, whether it be burning a parasite off a friends back with a torch, cutting a tentacle or extricating someone from a monsters belly, helping them up from a prone position, or defending a weaker party member from attacks. The concept of building a party that works together to resolve challenges shouldn't end at class and skill choices, it should be personal and a core part of the mechanics.

 

Monsters, traps and other environmental challenges should all do this - it's not hard to imagine friends throwing a rope to someone in a pit trap, slicing open an entangling net, dragging a companion out of a patch of quicksand and so on. Companions should be useful beyond simply having a Fireball that goes well with someones Entangle ability.

And spells/abilities such as Fire Shield/Thornskin/Immolate could serve a much greater function than simply adding passive damage to an equation. Wizard wielding a Tome and can't 1-on-1 melee that beast's gut open to rescue his friend inside? *CASTS IMMOLATE ON FRIEND*. Suck it, foul beast!

 

AND... If, say, certain characters had enough STR, maybe some planty/tenticley creature doesn't KNOW they are super strong, and tries to grab them and pull them in. *STR check...*. What's this? Your character's actually strong enough to not only NOT get pulled in, but to prevent the creature from even performing a tentacle retreat, so to speak. Now your other party members can easily run in (while he/she is holding it) and hack away at the creature/plant/thingy, or at the very least sever that tentacle. Critical hits for all!!!

[Odglok]

Even though underwater combat isn't a feasable concept in this type of game, I still really like aquatic/ambhipious enemies where they're appropriate. I'm also pretty fond of snakemen. Yet I've never seen a game with aquatic snakemen.

[AGX-17]

- Spider Mummy        [Disease - Infestation of Maggots]

...Ignoring the issues:

A. who would mummify a spider?

B. can a spider even be mummified?

 

Mummification precludes the presence of maggots.

 

Furthermore, maggots have medicinal uses, they can and are sometimes used in modern medicine to remove necrotic tissue from wounds. Yes, I am defending the honor of maggots.

Edited February 4, 2013 by AGX-17

[TRX850]

 

- Spider Mummy        [Disease - Infestation of Maggots]

...Ignoring the issues:

A. who would mummify a spider?

B. can a spider even be mummified?

 

Mummification precludes the presence of maggots.

 

Furthermore, maggots have medicinal uses, they can and are sometimes used in modern medicine to remove necrotic tissue from wounds. Yes, I am defending the honor of maggots.

 

A. Some interesting sub-culture that reveres spiders. One we've not seen before. That's why it's different.

 

B. (From the Monster Manual) -- Mummies defend tombs and other sacred places against intrusion, striking down foes with a deadly rotting disease.

 

This is a fantasy game. Infestation of Maggots is listed as a Druid spell. And so for variety, instead of Mummy Rot, I put that spell description there.  Most diseases in RPGs are handled with similar effects or state changes. It was just something different, that's all.

[Lephys]

 

- Spider Mummy        [Disease - Infestation of Maggots]

A. who would mummify a spider?

 

 

... A person from a culture that practices mummification, who was magically cursed and turned into a spider, along with his spouse/family, and who mummified them when they died, using spider silk instead of cloth bandages?

 

And, and... maybe he took this mummified spider-person to some other sorcerer/magic person (or used some relic/artifact/device) to put a curse on all the maggots he stuffed them with, so that people who were strolling along and bumped into the mummified spider-person would, IF they successfully bested it in combat, say "Oh hey! Maggots! I was almost out of these!" and take them back home where they practice medicine in their village, and utilize them in the treatment of a variety of appropriate wounds/infections, unknowingly spreading a petulent, mummified-spider-person disease! O_O

[AGX-17]

 

 

 

 

- Spider Mummy        [Disease - Infestation of Maggots]

...Ignoring the issues:

A. who would mummify a spider?

B. can a spider even be mummified?

 

Mummification precludes the presence of maggots.

 

Furthermore, maggots have medicinal uses, they can and are sometimes used in modern medicine to remove necrotic tissue from wounds. Yes, I am defending the honor of maggots.

 

 

 

A. Some interesting sub-culture that reveres spiders. One we've not seen before. That's why it's different.

 

B. (From the Monster Manual) -- Mummies defend tombs and other sacred places against intrusion, striking down foes with a deadly rotting disease.

 

This is a fantasy game. Infestation of Maggots is listed as a Druid spell. And so for variety, instead of Mummy Rot, I put that spell description there.  Most diseases in RPGs are handled with similar effects or state changes. It was just something different, that's all.

 

 

A. Fine, you'd have a point... if not for B.

 

B. You just ignored my point entirely and culled a definition of mummies from something that is not involved in P:E in any way, both by choice and for legal reasons. Because you can't actually address the idea of whether or not a spider can be mummified. Answer: no. What does mummification entail? The removal of internal organs and bodily fluids. How does a spider move? Hydraulically. Its legs are moved literally by the movement of blood through them. That's why they curl up when they die, the blood pressure that extends them is gone.

 

Finally, Project Eternity is not Neverwinter Nights. Don't cite outside sources from other IPs as though it were "canon" evidence to support your claim.

Edited February 4, 2013 by AGX-17

[TRX850]

A. Fine, you'd have a point... if not for B.

 

B. You just ignored my point entirely and culled a definition of mummies from something that is not involved in P:E in any way, both by choice and for legal reasons. Because you can't actually address the idea of whether or not a spider can be mummified. Answer: no. What does mummification entail? The removal of internal organs and bodily fluids. How does a spider move? Hydraulically. Its legs are moved literally by the movement of blood through them. That's why they curl up when they die, the blood pressure that extends them is gone.

 

Finally, Project Eternity is not Neverwinter Nights. Don't cite outside sources from other IPs as though it were "canon" evidence to support your claim.

 

Allow me to stroke your ego and tell you how much of a towering intellect you are, good sir.

 

But this is a fantasy game, and I was citing historic RPG reasons why a mummified spider and maggot infestation are not beyond exclusion. The purpose of the list was to get people thinking about creature variations that might inspire new game content.

 

And I will continue to cite outside sources if it suits the point I am making. Thankyou.

 

The game is in pre-production, and in case you hadn't noticed, there are thousands of posts on these forums that link to outside content to provide examples. I don't think people assume their links are "canon" in any way, so I don't know why you brought that up.

 

I also note that from reading your other posts that you tend to play things safe, by only ever commenting (usually in an unhelpful or irritating manner) on other people's discussions, and you are yet to post your own first suggestion on the P:E forums.

 

I, and I'm sure many of us here, wait with great anticipation for your first original and entertaining suggestion. Then I believe we'll be entitled to comment on your idea.

 

Now. Would you care to add any useful ideas to this thread?

[Gyges]

Lovecraftian/The Thing-like creature, formless mass of flesh gone insane. Compounds its considerable mass, growing skin and emulating bone to imitate people. Picture a bunch of skinless tentacles, mouths and eyes going at you, exploding out of what you thought was a lost child. Hope you've got a torch and a barrel of oil or a sorcerer with you.

Edited February 4, 2013 by Gyges

[tychokepler]

Lets seem some North American Lumberjack creatures;

Hodags, Hugags, Axe-Handle Hounds, Snolligosters, Agropelters, Squonks, Slide-Rock Bolters, Cactus Cats, etc

[LadyCrimson]

Lets seem some North American Lumberjack creatures;

Hodags, Hugags, Axe-Handle Hounds, Snolligosters, Agropelters, Squonks, Slide-Rock Bolters, Cactus Cats, etc

Cactus Cats? Are those anything like the ones in Piers Anthony's Xanth? Heheh. (I'm guessing not, but that's what came to my mind)

[tychokepler]

 

Lets seem some North American Lumberjack creatures;

Hodags, Hugags, Axe-Handle Hounds, Snolligosters, Agropelters, Squonks, Slide-Rock Bolters, Cactus Cats, etc

Cactus Cats? Are those anything like the ones in Piers Anthony's Xanth? Heheh. (I'm guessing not, but that's what came to my mind)

I had to look up a description, but actually yes! They're one and the same.

[TRX850]

Bicephalous (Two-Headed) Creature Variants:

- Trolls
- Wolves (Dire, Vampiric)
- Ogres
- Basilisks
- Golems
- Driders
- Giants
- Lycanthropes
- Skeletons
- ...and so on.

The second head could provide options ranging from extra bite attacks or gaze attacks, to additional spellcasting or taunting, to a better chance to avoid combat flanking.
 

[rjshae]

Spider Zombies -- a parasitic worm takes over this giant spider, turning it into a necrotic creature that is driven to bite other creatures and spread the worm eggs. It's slower and tougher to kill than a typical giant spider, but is non-toxic (apart from the disease risk of the bite).